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Published : 17 Oct 2024, 04:09 PM
Matia Chowdhury, a member of the Awami League presidium and former deputy leader of parliament, has been laid to rest at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Dhaka’s Mirpur.
Known as the ‘Agnikanya’ for her fiery speeches, Matia was an organiser for the NAP-Communist Party-Chhatra Union joint guerrilla forces in 1971.
The Awami League leader was not given a guard of honour, which is traditionally performed for the passing of a notable freedom fighter.
Matia passed away during treatment at Dhaka's Evercare Hospital on Wednesday afternoon. She had been battling health issues for some time.
After funeral prayers at the Gulshan Central Jame Mosque on Thursday afternoon following Zuhr prayers, the Awami League and other organisations paid their respects to the veteran politician.
Former Chhatra League President Moinuddin Hassan Chowdhury and Awami League leader Ataur Rahman Ata were among the party leaders who came to pay their tributes.
Alongside them were leaders from the Swechchhasebak League and the Banani branch of the Awami League. There were also representatives paying their respects from the Bangabandhu Krishibid Paribar, the Liberation War Museum, the Daily Sangbad, the Mani Singh Memorial Trust, and the Special Guerrilla Force.
The first funeral prayer service was held in front of Matia’s residence at the Ramna Apartment Complex at 9am.
Her brother, Masudul Islam Chowdhury, told bdnews24.com: “After the first funeral prayers at her home in the morning, the second funeral prayers were held after Zuhr at the Azad Mosque [the Gulshan Central Jame Mosque].”
“She was laid to rest at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Mirpur a short time ago. However, no one came to give her a guard of honour as a brave freedom fighter.”
A revered political figure, Matia served six terms as an MP for Sherpur-2 and as the minister of agriculture during the Awami League administrations in 1996, 2009, and 2013. In 2013, she was also appointed deputy leader of the parliament.
Born on June 30, 1942, in Pirojpur to police officer father Mohiuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Matia married journalist Bazlur Rahman in 1964.
She was the first female chief of any student organisation in Bangladesh. During her college days at Eden College, she was actively involved in left-wing student politics, serving as vice president and later president of the Student Union.
In 1966, she was a prominent participant in the Six-Point Movement. She was known as the Agnikanya, or the firebrand, for her blistering speeches when she was president of the Bangladesh Students’ Union and general secretary of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union or DUCSU.
In 1967, Matia joined the East Pakistan National Awami Party. During the Liberation War in 1971, she played a role as an organiser in forming a joint guerrilla force comprising members of the National Awami Party, the Communist Party, and the Student Union.
In 1979, she left the National Awami Party and joined the Awami League. By 1986, she had become the party's secretary for agricultural affairs and was eventually included in its policy-making council.
Throughout her long political career, Matia was imprisoned multiple times. She wrote a book titled "Deyal Diye Ghera" based on her experiences in prison.
Known among her political colleagues for her simple attire and modest lifestyle, Matia was a lifelong proponent of these values.
Most recently, she served as a member of the Awami League Presidium. In 2021, the Bangla Academy awarded her an honorary fellowship for her role in Bangladesh's Liberation War.
